Harddrive seal gone to goo, leaking and explosed innards (Conner CP-2024)

[Howie_PCTech]

Hello, I'm brand new here :D I just opened up a Panasonic Business Partner CF-270. The Conner CP-2024 hard drive inside is leaking a gooey, sticky substance which I have come to realize is the seal between the top and bottom halves (that should be sealing the inner movement from the outside world) which is now deteriorating, becoming liquified, so much so that there are full gaps between the top and bottom and I can see some of the insides. The gap is approximately 1.2mm all around.

Has anyone heard of, or encountered this happening with any hard drives? I'm sure materials these days are more advanced than when this drive was manufactured. Then again, whether it's Los Angeles in general (or something in the air in my apartment,) I find many plastics and rubber-type materials have become sticky while living here the last 8 years. (This includes the plastic on the outsides of cables, etc. but usually the cheap "no brand name" type that came from China, but that's another topic.) Anyway, I would be interested in feedback.

Also, a bit off-topic, but before I recycle this partially disassembled CF-270, if anyone wants it, I'd be happy to send it on (if you pay the shipping.) I don't know if it works beyond the hard drive issue, but the NiCad battery leaked a bit, and I have never had the charger for it. (It was not mine, I salvaged it some years ago.)

Thanks for any comments. (Added two photos, hope I did it correctly, each forum has their own system :razz: )

Cheers,
Howie

64806481

[Chuck(G)]

Howie, it's quite likely the LA air--full of ozone, which is death to any sort of rubber product. Usually, in hard drives, this turns "bumpers" (shock absorber stops) to sticky goo, as well as pinch rollers in tape drives as well as belts and seals in all sorts of other equipment.

What can make it worse is if you have a copier or laser printer without a working ozone filter, or one of those "ion generator" air purifiers.

[MikeS]

Nah, it's not the LA air, it's the crummy material that Conner used; I have one in a laptop with exactly the same nasty disease and we all know that the Canadian air is the cleanest in the world ;-)

I wiped it off and wrapped tape around it; so far so good.

[njroadfan]

Conner was notorious for cutting corners like this. One of the many reason why they got bought out by Seagate.

[Druid6900]

I wiped it off and wrapped tape around it; so far so good.

Was that the Official Red Green plaid duct-tape?

[Chuck(G)]

Hmm, I don't see this on any of my Conner drives, but they're all stored in a cool dark place.

[MikeS]

Hmm, I don't see this on any of my Conner drives, but they're all stored in a cool dark place.I've got a bunch of clean Conners as well and that laptop drive is the first and only one I've ever seen with that problem, although dissolving drive belts, capstan pinch rollers, idler wheels etc. are certainly not uncommon; like your crumbling plastic I guess certain formulations just didn't stand the test of time, heat and pollution.

[Chuck(G)]

Does the CP2020 share this failing also?

[Howie_PCTech]

Thanks for the interesting and enlightening feedback, guys! So, any suggestions what to do with the old Panasonic "laptop" the gooey Conner came from? I know there's a forum area for people looking for stuff, etc, but this is my first foray into the "vintage computer" crowd.

[DOS lives on!!]

I'll be getting a Panasonic Sr. Partner soon. Mine looks in pretty good condition, but I'll ask you if I need any parts.

[RetroHacker_]

Definitely have seen the gooey drive seal problem. The Conner drives used on the Macintosh Portable suffered this fate too.

-Ian

[deathshadow]

Doesn't help it's a Connor -- many Maxtors suffer a similar fate because unlike Western Digital who uses rubber grommets, Connor and many other cheap drive manufacturers just gooped on silicone RTV sealant... a product NOT designed for prolonged use and that is gas permeable. That gas permeability lets contaminants in the air actually penetrate the sealer changing it's chemical composition until, well... you've seen the result.

I used to have a STACK of dead Maxtors ranging from 128 megs to 40 gigs all of which had the same problem. Gutted them for the nice strong magnets and motors, chucked the rest.

[MikeS]

I've got dozens of Maxtors as well, but can't say I've ever seen this problem on any of them; must be that clean Canadian air ;-)

[Chuck(G)]

I've got a bunch of Maxtors too, both FH 5.25" and 3.5" and all of mine are fine.

I still lay the blame on ozone.